DirectBuy review: class action lawsuit info 80

Nothing but a scam, please let me know of any class action law suits!

Total waste of money! Didn't save any money. Could do without the hassle and be better with my money back. Don't buy this membership. I wish I had done my homework before showing up for presentation.

I wouls love to get out of my current agreemet with direct buy? is there any way? let me know if someone finds a loop hole...kv
Houston, TX

I agree totally. I have a lawyer but i have to do all research. I am dis abled and ive been trying to do comparables but its too much for me .And they change a lot of imfo. Like one week i got some prices from there site then it said i had to come to showroom for price. And whats up with the catologs they send .they have cost on certain items only.deception is the word to describe it.Also the items online says shoroom pickup. just not true.

there has to be a way out of the contract please if anyone knows share it im on ssi and what a mistake, please if any help e-mail at dporter5071@comcast.net thanks

PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF ANY CLASS ACTION SUITS AND HOW TO GET OUT OF THE MEMBERSHIP CONTRACT!

I agree totally. I emailed the owner and explained that due to unforseen circumstances, that I could no longer pay my membership dues and they were totally unsympathetic to my situation! There HAS to be something I can do to get out of this membership!

Are you still in your contract? What did they tell you when you tried to cancel?

It will be a miracle and a prayer answered. I long for the day they
are prevented from doing any business whatsoever in any state.
This company is horrible, the franchise owners are filled with
greed, neglect, and dishonesty. They used their corporate dollars
to cover up quite a few things that some of us have knowledge about.

For all the folks who are asking about the Federal lawsuit filed against Directbuy, please note that there are now TWO Federal RICO lawsuits filed in the U.S. Federal District Court for Connecticut.

The first one was filed on August 20, 2008 and is entitled "Ponzi et al v. DirectBuy Inc. et al.
The second was filed on April 13, 2009 and is entitled "Wilson et al v. DirectBuy Inc. et al.

Here is a link where you can verify this imformation:

http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=directbuy&search=Search&stateorcourt=state-ct&lawsuittype=&documentfilter=allcases&cases=mostrecent&min-day=1&min-month=1&min-year=2004&max-day=31&max-month=1&max-year=2010

Good luck wiht your shopping! ;-)

Direct Buy is a total JOKE. I bought into there BS almost three years ago. I have tried about 20 times to buy something though them at there so called special pricing. After getting the 'Direct Buy' pricing I was always able to get a better price on the internet and didn't have to wait 3-5 weeks as they always stated in there quotes. On thing I was interested in when I joined was that they could bet the warehouse pricing on TV's and electrical products. I requested quotes on 6 TV's since I joined and they couldn't get close to getting them through Amazon.com. Don't waste your money! I am going to sue or join a Class Action suit against them for my money.

DIRECT BUY IS A TOTAL SCAM, SO COMPLICATED TO BUY ANYTHING EITHER ON LINE OR AT THEIR FACILITIES THEY MAKE IT SO DIFICULT TO DO ANYTHING.
ALL VICTIMS FROM THESE SCAMMERS NEED TO GET TOGHETHER AND STOP THEM FROM CONTINUING TO STEAL PEOPLE'S MONEY IS UNVELIVABLE THAT THEY ARE STILL OPERATING IN THE GOOD USA AND STILL RUNNING ALL THIS COMERCIALS ON TV ABOUT HOW GOOD THEY ARE.
LETS GO AFTER THEM CLASS ACTION SUIT ALL THE WAY.

We were suckered by Direct Buy too: 1) our showing ended right before closing so we only had 5 minutes to sign the unread contract; 2) they state, "...whether you need it now or 10 years from now..." when in fact they know we will be paying for years on a fraudulent contract and membership is only about 1.5 years and 3) they then close the location you were near and you are required to drive across state to acquire products. As learned in college, because they changed their name (i.e., Direct Buy Club), they "may" already be in Bankruptcy! Thank you Lord, it could not have happened to a more deserving business group of criminals!

how do you get to be part of class action suit against Direct Buy?They are crooks and something needs to be done about them!
Every thing I have read is the same with me.After they get your money then they are through with you.I have wore my self out and worked my self intsuckeredo an ulcer fighting for justice trying to communicate with direct Buy .they have lied and plainly stole people's money.
suckered!

I hate direct buy there a bunch of thefts who should be put in jail with the rest the the criminals in the world. I am from Canada Ontario and we were told the same lies saying were are going to save all this money if we joing and pay $5000. We look at the prices in the price books and notices it is cheapter to purchase items at the store then go there and have the steal money from us. Never join again and hope they get what is coming to them.

I am personally a directbuy member and I find it saves me quite a bit of money. It all depends what you are buying. We just purchased an old house, so buying tiles and things like that through directbuy saves us a lot of money for our renovations, and we have saved our membership fees within a year of being a member. Also, I feel most of the posts above about directbuy are from one dis-satisfied customer. If you notice, most of the posts are posted by someone with very poor grammar skills and uses the word 'there' for 'their'.

Name me one product that you can find for cheap and I will tell you what price I can get it for at directbuy.

I will say that they use some pretty strange tactics for trying to get you to sign up. However, we were able to sucker them into letting us wait a year before signing up. It's all sales at the beginning, but you really do save when you're purchasing a lot of large items.

I got sign into this company early 2008 i have the same issues every one of you have if there is a way to get my money back i atleast some of it that would be great
i am the regular type of american from pay to pay i dont have the freedom to ignore an amount that big if there is some help available i would like to know thanks.

I joined DirectBuy a few years ago to furnish a home. My dining room set was available from both DirectBuy and a local furniture store. The furniture store had free delivery and set up and the cost was the SAME as DirectBuy without its delivery charge--something I needed since I had no means of moving a breakfront, let alone the table, six chairs and a server. Other items I ordered were never available and no one ever contacted me to inform me that the order could not be filled. I did order a butcher's rack which I picked up at the freight company which was closer to my home than the DirectBuy showroom was --the workers at the freight company at least helped me. Larger items at DirectBuy itself are a nightmare--no one will help and I, a single senior citizen woman, had to push, pull and try to move boxes into my SUV. Hooray for the lawsuit!

Prove that the prices are cheaper in the store. I'm a member and I saved much more money than the membership fees. I think most of you don't use the service or are lying. My experience has been very satifactury and without complaint. I also see many of the complainers on this website cant spell well at all. Credibility is lost when your spelling is wrong and most PC's do have spell check.

Very Interesting to all that post "positive " experiences with Direct Buy...seems that grammer is more important than the money people have been scammed. First of all I would like to send my heart felt sorrows to all that have had losses and the numerous negative experiences...and THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME FROM JOINING. I find great deals on the internet and local shopping...it is time consuming BUT Id rather spend money elsewhere. GOOD LUCK IN THE LAWSUITS. I didnt use spellcheck

I have to agree that they are a rip-off. The sales person told me I could add a friend and we could split the $5000 membership fee. When I came back with my friend to add her to the account, my account had been "red flagged" and they wrote "do not allow to add (friend's name) to the account." What kind of business are they running? I purchased the membership to redo my kitchen and bathroom. I bought my kitchen cabinets from another company with better quality and pricing. I spent $2000 on a vanity, faucet, and medicine cabinet. That's more than I had dreamed of paying. So if you add the membership fee and the amount I spent on the bathroom, I paid $7000 for a bathroom. I did not even buy tile or anything. Rip-off. I would love to see them go out of business.

We recently got suckard into purchasing a membership with Direct Buy. We have only had it one week and already regretting it! On the contract it states only 3 days to cancel but you don't have access to their website for 7 days.That is shady business.As soon as we were able to look on the website we felt that the prices were high and even higher than Home Depot. When I called to speak to someone in charge I was handed off to 3 different people and basically I was told there was nothing they could do. We lost our 500 dollars towards the membership fee, which is an outrages fee of 5000. But I will not give them one red cent more.

I was scammed just like everyone else in this post. They said I couldn't cancel my 'membership' because I signed a 'contract'. I feel a 'membership' is something a person should be able to cancel at any time; ie a membership to the YMCA or a fitness club. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and got nowhere. It's like the Better Business Bureau is on the side of the business and not the people of this country who get scammed. A week ago we received an e-mail for a directbuy settlement on a class action suit. When I clicked on the link they gave to get more information, it didn't work. I even googled the link my self but found nothing. I then called the phone number they gave but all I got was a menu full of useless information. They kept directing me to the website. No option to talk to a live person. Sounds like this so called settlement is a scam also. All I want is my money back but it I guess I'll just cut my losses and learn from this horrible experience.

To Adpro:
I can send you a list of items that I want to purchase including the TOTAL price (add the 8% Handling fee on every item & the way marked up freight cost) I will pay with my Direct Buy membership versus the total price I will pay from buying online. The savings are averaging 15% - $5500 for a savings of $825. I will have to buy well over $30K just to RECOUP my $5000 membership fee. There is not a large enough variety of items offered from Direct Buy for me to ever recoup my membership fee.

My wife and I were duped from Direct Buy a few years ago. We went to the meeting and they made everything sound so good. They wanted us to do a membership that night, and that if we didn't do it that night we wouldn't be eligible to join. So we joined without much thought.About one week later we went down and looked through some of their books and magazine's and found not a lot of price difference. We would have had to spend a lot of money to make up the difference of our membership fees. We tried to get our money back and told them that it was a mistake to have signed up with them. Neither my wife or myself have a job right now and it would sure be nice to see some of our membership fees come back to us. We have never bought a single thing through Direct Buy . The lawsuit papers I got in the mail Wilson v. Direct Buy, Inc says I can get two month free membership. I don't want any free membership I want money back.

Papers I received stated the same thing - 2 month "free" membership extension if they win the class-action suit. But I'll send the form back anyway so I can be counted.
Debi, Ohio

I felt that all of us who were coerced, lied to with fraudulant information, or forced to sign immediatly told they won't have a second chance, should receive our ENTIRE monies back. There is NO reason for any company, if they are legitimate, to have to use tactics to sell their memeberships or products. If they are not stopped now they will continue to bully others into a situation that is more harmful than good. I think we should stick together and get ALL our monies back NOW. I will send my papers back to be counted, but I do not want the 2 months free membership, I want all my money back.

I agree that the 2 month free membership, and opportunity to renew up to 10 years for $200 (per year?) is basically useless since the membership is useless. We were building a house when we bought the membership and found it was useless trying to order from DB unless you had all the time in the world to wait for delivery, which we didn't. I basically used the membership to know the wholesale prices for appliances, etc., and then bought from Coast Wholesale for as close as possible to the wholesale price. It was hardly worth $4, 000 to know the wholesale price.

I say we all accept the free membership offered in the law suit settlement and then hang out in the showroom and discourage all the starry-eyed people they send in during the sales pitch process to tour the showroom. I used to do that when my membership was still active. One poor young couple were talking about using their rent money for the down payment! Can you believe that! I'm not sure I was able to convince them not to join because the sales pitch is so effective. They seemed shocked that it wasn't a good deal.

A club is a club is a club. Like a car dealership who will try anything to get you in that new shiny car you don't need, DirectBuy is a club for people who like to shop or need to shop and save money on MOST things. My wife and I joined about 5 years ago and made back over half the membership with the savings from the first purchase. We researched the same furniture we wanted and could not even come near the price we got through DirectBuy. Sure, there are some items you can get cheaper online but you have to read the fine print...(refurbished), (reconditioned), etc.

It is impossible to buy something new at below cost...unless the seller is liquidating and does not care about profit. For those of you not educated on economics, here is a quick lesson:
Today is January 30th, 2011; a new high tech TV just came out. I (the retailer) purchase the TV from the manufacturer (or distributor) at cost. The MSRP is 30% above cost but I sell it at 35% above cost to make a 35% profit. You (the customer) purchase the TV from me at 35% above cost but only 5% over MSRP; why? because the uneducated consumer does not do their homework before shopping.

Think of it like a telephone contract. The connection from you to your mom goes something like this: You > local carrier > parent carrier > local carrier > your mom.
So, your phone bill pays for everything in between. Imagine not having to do that and just going straight to your mom: you > mom
Another example: You want a TV; you go to BestBuy to get it. So here is the channel: You > BestBuy > Distributor > Sony
If you go to DirectBuy, here is your channel: You > Sony - And where is DirectBuy you ask? Just there, providing you a direct channel to the manufacturer via your membership.
Imagine if we could do the same with buying a car? Where would the dealerships be? Probably complaining about a company like DirectBuy taking their business.

Business is business and if DirectBuy was illegal, they would have been shut down by the FTC many years ago.

My husband and I went as a shop when I was a secret shopper years ago. We had sold our house and were considering building one from scratch. Yes, Direct Buy did pull the same stunt with the minutes to get the deal. Needless to say they were convincing and we did buy into it. Unfortunately, my husband became ill, eventually dying, and we never used the membership. It was a lot of money and I could sure use it raising two boys on my own. I consider the whole episode a waste of time and a scam. Direct Buy should offer a refund of all memberships not just two months free with $200 a year membership for 10 years. Lawyers!

I have had good success when dealing with Directbuy. I admit it can be tediuos work pouring over the catalog format that is currently in place when purchasing an item. Also there have been times when the staff has been no help to me at all, but no one can say they do not experience the same difficulties when buying items in retail stores. The service industry is a mess right now with companies having to hire inexperienced / unmotivated personnel. I have made my membership money back and then some since I joined (Sept 06). When purchasing a membership, I was informed on how merchandise must be picked up and for those of you who did not pay attention, you are now blaming Direct Buy for your inablity to live by the contract rules you all signed.

I AGREE WITH THE LAWSUIT!
We were duped into signing on "Now, because you cannot wait", we did and it did us no good. Like a lot of you said, in checking other stored, we were able to purchase items at a lower price than DirectBuy gave, without having to wait the 6 weeks we were told! I want my money back!

Please I want to be part of this movement to bring dirrectbuy to its knees, they have now sent me to collection, for a service I was never able to use due to their failed promise to have better price than even whole sale stores. I have to this day not been able to afford any thing from them so I have paid them over $600 in membership fees and I want to get my money back for their lies and bad business
Leo

We purchased a membership with DirectBuy in Chespapeake VA. Don't buy a membership! The manager has a dirty car salesman look and personality. He was very friendly and joking when getting you to sign up and the girls are just there to look cute-when i thought they were there to help. If there is trouble with an item ordered and not recieving it in a timely manner they talk to you as if concerned but then blow you off. The Better Business Bureau seems to be making it difficult for us as well. They requested "documents, " when i wrote back to get them to be more specific they didn't so that the time ran out before they "close" the file...Maybe we can just go to the News!

i say we get the dates and time of every open house and make some nice signs to detour any new members.

I agree with a number of the above posts. When you factor in the shipping charges and having to drive considerable distances to pick up the items ordered and having to load them yourself, (especially if you had to rent a truck to transport them), you will probably find yourself spending more at Direct Buy. Many items are unavailable and as for buying at Home Depot, the quality is not comparable. The only bargains we got were a very few small items that were available in the warehouse. (For example: knife sets). I think it would be a wonderful idea to go to the showroom to warn prospective clients about the inadvisability of joining. They will tell you anything to get you to plunk down your money.

Wow, I am so glad I read these comments. I was due to visit the showroom this afternoon for a 90 minute presentation and the chance to get a $50, 000.00 house makeover with a key they had sent me for that purpose. They have been calling me to make sure that I meet my appointment, like a big deal. They never said anything about a $5, 000.00 fee or a 10 year contract. I had asked on the phone about fees and contracts and they just tell you that you will be informed of all the details during the presentation. Of course, I am not going to the presentation after reading all the experiences. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

We joined Direct buy about a year ago and the only real saving we were able to get were on appliances, only because DB had an agreement with Rudy's Appliance and your order was handled by Rudy's. Everything else the price was raised so much by fees, shipping & handling that it is not worth it, especially with the 8-10 week waiting period. They then further insult you by putting your credit card through well before you get the item, so if there is a problem, you are screwed.
DB's latest is that they charge you an additional fee to ship C.O.M. orders and if you tell them you want to ship it yourself, they give you all these rules that make it almost impossible to ship at a decent rate.

I am currently dealing with harrassing phone calls from Direct Buy's financial partner Beta Finance. I refused to make any payments after I visited thier members only online site and had a chance to see what I was getting with the membership. I'd like to take part in or start a lawsuit against this villainous corporation. I'll be checking back here in a few days to see if there's anyone else interested in doing the same.

Arkansasan

When I first signed up, yes bad me... I financed my membership and was not disclosed the interest... I refused to sighn the contract. I was the counter offered a lesser rate...silly me again, I signed and still paying...little did I know teh membeship was 2yrs...I thought it was a life time. I feel BAIT AND SWITCHED...SCAMMED... I'm obligated to pay the loan...but not to do business with them. I want them to buy back the loan. ScornedConsumer...